Wilinggin Fire Project

Wilinggin Fire Project is a Savanna Fire Management project located in the remote North Kimberley region of Western Australia, approximately 250km northeast of Derby. Registered in February 2014, the project covers a vast area of over 1 million hectares within the Wilinggin Indigenous Protected Area (IPA). The land is held under exclusive possession Native Title by the Wanjina-Wunggurr (Native Title) Aboriginal Corporation and managed by the Ngarinyin people.

Savanna Fire Management projects involve the strategic application of "cool" burns during the early dry season to reduce the risk of large, uncontrolled wildfires later in the year. By creating a mosaic of burnt and unburnt country, these projects limit the spread of hot, late dry season fires which release significantly more methane and nitrous oxide. The 2015 methodology used here requires annual fire planning, validating vegetation fuel types, and strict monitoring to ensure net abatement is achieved compared to a historical baseline.

The project area spans the rugged sandstone plateaus and gorges of the Kimberley, featuring vegetation typical of tropical savannas. The region encompasses both high rainfall (over 1000mm annually) and low rainfall (600-1000mm) zones, a distinction formally recognised when the project area was varied and expanded in October 2017. The soils are predominantly sandy Tenosols and skeletal Rudosols found on the rocky escarpments, with some red earth Kandosols in the valleys.

An interesting feature of this project is its integration with the Wilinggin "Healthy Country Plan", which uses carbon revenue to fund Ranger employment and cultural activities. The project is a major success story for the sector; in 2021, the Clean Energy Regulator announced that the 100 millionth Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) issued under the Emissions Reduction Fund was awarded to the Wilinggin Fire Project.